"Utilities regulators for the District of Columbia on Tuesday denied Exelon Corp’s $6.8 billion bid for Pepco Holdings Inc, dealing a major blow to a deal that would have created the country's top power distributor.

Pepco shares fell 15.4 percent, and Exelon was down about 4 percent after the D.C. Public Service Commission said the companies had not proven that the proposed merger was in the public interest.

The three-member commission was the final regulatory hurdle for the deal, which was announced in April 2014. The four other states required to approve the deal had voted in favor of the merger."

Ayesha Rascoe reports for Reuters August 25, 2015. [2]